The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Participating schools are located principally in the Northeastern United States, from which the conference derives its name.
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision independent schools are four-year institutions in the United States whose football programs are not part of a football conference. This means that FCS independents are not required to schedule each other for competition as conference schools do. As of the 2024 season, Merrimack and Sacred Heart will be competing as independents, as their primary conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, does not sponsor football. They were previously members of the Northeast Conference which does sponsor the sport. Merrimack and Sacred Heart are confirmed to play as FCS independents in 2024.
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Division II and Division III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition.
NCAA Division I independent schools are four-year institutions that compete in college athletics at the NCAA Division I level, but do not belong to an established athletic conference for a particular sport. These schools may however still compete as members of an athletic conference in other sports. A school may also be fully independent, and not belong to any athletic conference for any sport at all. The reason for independent status varies among institutions, but it is frequently because the school's primary athletic conference does not sponsor a particular sport.
The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. Its member institutions are located in the Northeast United States.
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the FCS level comprises 129 teams in 13 conferences as of the 2024 season. The FCS designation is relevant only for football; members of the subdivision compete in NCAA Division I in all other sports.
This article depicts the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Alignment History—specifically, all schools that have competed in the lower tier of NCAA Division I college football since Division I football was split into two subdivisions in 1978. This includes schools competing in:
The Sacred Heart Pioneers are the 32 sports teams representing Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut in intercollegiate athletics. The Pioneers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Atlantic Hockey, Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, and New England Women's Hockey Alliance.
The Dayton Flyers football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Dayton located in the U.S. state of Ohio. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Pioneer Football League. Dayton's first football team was fielded in 1905. The team plays its home games at the 11,000 seat Welcome Stadium in Dayton, Ohio. The Flyers are coached by Trevor Andrews.
The Marist Red Foxes football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Marist College located in the U.S. state of New York. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Pioneer Football League. Marist's first football team was fielded in 1965. The team plays its home games at the 5,000 seat Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field in Poughkeepsie, New York. The Red Foxes are coached by Mike Willis.
The San Diego Toreros football team is the college football program that represents the University of San Diego (USD). The Toreros compete in NCAA Division I (FCS) as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL). The team plays its home games at Torero Stadium.
The Wagner Seahawks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Wagner College located in the U.S. state of New York. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Northeast Conference. Wagner's first football team was fielded in 1927. The team plays its home games at the 3,300 seat Wagner College Stadium in Staten Island, New York. The Seahawks are coached by Tom Masella.
The Merrimack Warriors are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Merrimack College, located in North Andover, Massachusetts, in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sporting competitions. All of the Warrior athletic teams compete at the Division I level. Men's and women's ice hockey compete in the Hockey East conference and football competes as an FCS Independent, while the remaining teams are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
The Central Connecticut Blue Devils football program is the intercollegiate football team for Central Connecticut State University located in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Northeast Conference. Central Connecticut State's first football team was fielded in 1935. The team plays its home games at the 5,500 seat Arute Field in New Britain, Connecticut. The Blue Devils are coached by Adam Lechtenberg.
The LIU Post Pioneers were the athletic teams that represented the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, located in Brookville, New York, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports through the 2018–19 school year. The Pioneers most recently competed as members of the East Coast Conference for most sports; the football team was an affiliate of the Northeast-10 Conference. LIU Post has been a member of the ECC since 1989, when the league was established as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference.
The Austin Peay Governors football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Austin Peay State University, located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and played the most recent 2022 season as members of the ASUN Conference. For the 2023 season and beyond, Peay will play in the United Athletic Conference, created shortly after the 2022 season by the merger of the football leagues of the ASUN and Western Athletic Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1930. They were previously a member of the Ohio Valley Conference and the Pioneer Football League (2001–2005). Austin Peay Governors football plays its home games at the 10,000 seat Fortera Stadium.
